My 1st high end Creams - do English Lords really smell this flowery?

**JamieW** · 07-12-2010, 11:52 AM

I was super excited when I opened the mailbox to find the sample pack I ordered from Trumpers waiting for me...just in time for today's shave. I tore into the package to find a nice linen drawstring bag. Packed inside were about 1/2 dozen colognes, along with a small sample of Rose, Violet, Almond, and Lime, shave creams plus Coral and Lime Skin Food samples.

Excitedly, I began opening the various creams to see which one I would get to shave with today. First the Rose...big sniff...hmmmmm...smells like roses. Instantly brings back memories of my early childhood when I would play with my grandmother's empty Avon bottles. Not an unpleasant smell, in fact, quite the contrary, but I don't want to smell like my Grandmother, either!

I had a similar reaction to the Violet...IMO a very feminine scent. The Almond, smelled like almonds...not bad, and the Lime was like Key Lime pie. Not the homemade kind that my mother used to make, but the frozen kind you get at the grocery store.

Since we are in the middle of this North Eastern heat wave, I thought the lime would be just the ticket. So I soaked my Tweezerman, put an almond sized chunk of cream in my shave mug, gave my brush a few shakes to get the extra water out, and began to work up the lather. And when I say work, I really had to work at this stuff to get the lather going. I found I needed to add more water than I expected to get it to bloom. I didn't want to put too much water in, so it was 3 drops, swirl-mash-swirl, 3 more drops swirl-mash-swirl, etc.

After about 5 minutes of working at it, I finally had a lather that seemed just right. I brushed it on my face, and it went on relatively thickly and smoothly. Gave my face that first pass, and instantly noticed that the slickness I have been getting from the German Palmolive shave stick I've been using for the past couple of weeks wasn't there. With the Palmolive, I'll lather up, do a pass with the razor, and my face will still feel slick. With this cream, I didn't get that. First pass WTG wasn't particularly close, either. 2nd pass, 3rd pass, same thing. For the 3rd pass, I added a bit more water to the brush and got more foamy lather, though not as thick as the first two.

Went for my touch-up run on my neck, and there was barely enough lather for one touch up pass on some of the problem areas of my neck. Instead of the BBS shaves I've had the last few times with my shave sticks, I was left with a DFS/CCS.

The Lime Skin Food was better. The scent was a little richer and spicier, and it felt really good on my face, but after the fact, my face doesn't feel as hydrated as it usually does with the cheapo Gillette ASB I've been using.

Maybe it's my humble, middle class, outlook on life, but I'm not sure I'm worthy of Geoff Trumper!

**Jim** · 07-12-2010, 11:55 AM

Use more product, double up on it.

The scent will not linger past your shave.

**thanks** · 07-12-2010, 12:09 PM

I don't think you used enough water. Try shaking out your brush, then sticking it into the tiny jar of cream, and working the lather in your bowl that way. If lather doesn't come off of your razor easily with a quick pass under the faucet, then your lather is far too dry.

**Go West Young Man** · 07-12-2010, 12:10 PM

+1 on adding a lot more water, that'll give you the slickness you're looking for.

Also, fyi, I think Trumpers is a fairly pedestrian middle-of-the-road products. The other 2 T's are much higher end, IMO.

**Elecid** · 07-12-2010, 12:10 PM

I would suggest starting with TOBS rather than Trumper. It's cheaper and, in my estimation, has better fragrances.

+1 to doubling your product use. I get better results as far as slickness with face-lathering creams.

**thanks** · 07-12-2010, 12:17 PM

I also agree that the other two T's are better, but quite frankly, I don't see any value in T&H. They're just plain overpriced.

The best Trumper cream IMHO, is GFT.

**DanOK** · 07-12-2010, 12:20 PM

Yes they did. Bathing on a regular bases was considered a way one ticket to the sick house. When the great plagues came, the Black Death, in the 14th century, the king of France asked the medical faculty at the Sorbonne in Paris, "What is causing this hideous plague that is killing one out of every three Europeans, and what can we do to prevent it?" And the doctor said the people who were at risk for getting the plague had opened their pores in warm or hot water, in the baths, and they were much more susceptible.

If was considered much safer to pour on the fragrances than to take a bath.

**JamieW** · 07-12-2010, 01:02 PM

Lots of great info here, thanks everyone! Still not digging the scents, but I might give the almond a go with more product and more water.

**HokieGeek** · 07-12-2010, 01:42 PM

I had the same experience with the 3 Ts. Taylors was good, but T&H and Trumpers were kinda dry. So far my most slickest cream has been SCS Very 'V'. But, then again, I tend to add a lot of water to Very V, so I'll have to remember the next time I try one of these guys to go crazy with the product and water.

**kingfisher** · 07-12-2010, 01:53 PM

It should not take long to get a good lather with a Trumper's cream. It is probably my FASTEST lathering cream.

I put a two-almond size dollop in my bowl, shake out my boar brush well, and begin to work the lather, sometimes adding a bit of water, sometimes not, depending on how the lather looks. I can usually get from a chunk of cream to a perfect lather in about 30-45 seconds. Seriously. And it works great, moisturizes great, etc.

I don't know it is, but you doing something terribly wrong.

Oh, and it's George Trumper, not Geoff.

Or maybe that's your problem. If you're using Geoff Trumper creams, they're not the real deal!

**Fairchild86** · 07-12-2010, 04:45 PM

I would use it more that one time before throwing it to the gutter.

**JamieW** · 07-12-2010, 05:07 PM

I may not get a chance to. My wife came home tonight and, without telling her the names of the creams I said, "I got new shaving cream. Smell." (Placing the rose under her nose). "Smells girly" she responded. Not one to mince words, my wife.

So I tried the Violet. Same response.

"That's what I thought." I said.

A short pause.

"Can I use it?" She asked...

**HokieGeek** · 07-13-2010, 04:25 AM

Originally Posted by JamieW

I may not get a chance to. My wife came home tonight and, without telling her the names of the creams I said, "I got new shaving cream. Smell." (Placing the rose under her nose). "Smells girly" she responded. Not one to mince words, my wife.

So I tried the Violet. Same response.

"That's what I thought." I said.

A short pause.

"Can I use it?" She asked...

**Speedwell68** · 07-13-2010, 06:05 AM

Originally Posted by JamieW

I may not get a chance to. My wife came home tonight and, without telling her the names of the creams I said, "I got new shaving cream. Smell." (Placing the rose under her nose). "Smells girly" she responded. Not one to mince words, my wife.

So I tried the Violet. Same response.

"That's what I thought." I said.

A short pause.

"Can I use it?" She asked...

I have recently had a similar reaction from SWMBO, it cost me £44 at the Traditional Shave Company. It was partly my fault by throwing her pink Wilkinson Sword Quattro in the bin. Hope she likes TOBS Rose Cream as I reckon it will be a little too girly for me. So just wait until she starts using your DE.

**DolimiteB** · 07-13-2010, 07:01 AM

Sounds like you need to add a little more water. The baseline Trumper's have never appealed to me, but I think you would find the Trumper's GFT to have a much more masculine, almost aristocratic scent. It has received positive reviews from many in the "Review" forum. I am currently using the Trumper's GFT deoderant and can attest that it's rather magnificent. If the shave cream is anything like the deoderant, you'll have a winner.